Not that what Simon had done could really be categorized as “interfering.” It was more like he’d sat back and waited to see what would happen. For all I knew, he had some of the abilities of a seer, might have known that Rafe’s and my cobbled-together romance would implode before it even got started. If that were really true, it might have been nice if he could have warned me…but then, would I have even believed him?
“What happens if this takes longer than ten days?”
He turned his head toward me and smiled slightly. “It won’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I can already sense the power building in you. It wants to come out.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that; the picture that formed in my mind was one of a dam breaking, water flowing out and leaving destruction in its wake. I hadn’t embarked on this escape with Simon because I wanted to hurt anyone or destroy anything. All I wanted was to have real powers like every other witch and warlock I knew. I was tired of feeling like a freak.
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see,” I remarked.
The car turned right on a street whose name I didn’t catch. We passed restaurants and breweries and then came out into a more modern commercial area, with a big shopping center on one side. Across the street, though, was a cemetery, and I had to repress a shiver. I hoped its presence on our way out of town wasn’t a sign of things to come.
Right next to the regular, old-fashioned graveyard was a national cemetery, the rows of identical white tombstones shimmering in my peripheral vision as we drove past. After that, we were on the highway, the houses of Santa Fe giving way to open country not so different from northern Arizona — juniper and piñon trees, scrubby dry grass spread over rolling hills. Only a few minutes passed before the car began to descend into a river valley, a line of cottonwood trees blazing like golden fire in the setting sun as they followed the water through the lowlands.
The car pulled off the highway at an exit for a place called Tesuque. I’d never heard of it, but that didn’t mean much. Other than checking the climate and making sure I’d bring appropriate clothing, I hadn’t done a lot of research on Santa Fe and its environs. I’d thought I would be able to discover these things in person, with my new husband at my side.
Well, there was a joke.
Although I’d resolved to put him out of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder what Rafe was up to right now. Was he worried at all about what had happened to me, or was he glad that I’d disappeared into thin air, that I wasn’t his problem any longer? Even if that were the case, Genoveva had to be furious, just because at some point she’d have to provide some explanation to my parents as to why I’d disappeared.
My parents….
“I need to call home,” I said.
“Of course you do,” Simon replied, his tone unruffled. “You can use my phone when we get to the house. The signal isn’t very good around here, so you’ll need to use the wi-fi.”
Just the fact that he hadn’t argued or come up with excuses as to why I shouldn’t call home made me relax a good deal. If — as I couldn’t help worrying about, even though he’d given no indication that his intentions were nefarious — he really was up to no good, then the last thing he’d want was for me to let my parents know where I was. I knew they’d probably do their best to talk me into coming back to Arizona, but I would have to stand firm. I needed to give this a try. I had to see if Simon really could help me.
This area was nearly rural, the road now one lane in either direction, overhung by tall trees, their leaves a riot of autumn gold. We came to a crossroads with a funky-looking restaurant on one side, then turned past it and headed up toward the hills as the valley gradually sank into shadow.
“What was that place?” I asked.
Simon’s gaze traveled toward the restaurant, then back to the vehicle’s controls. As I watched, he disengaged the self-driving mechanism and took control of the car himself. “Oh, that’s the Tesuque Village Market.”
“It looked like a restaurant.”
“It’s a restaurant and a market. They sell local stuff. The food’s good, though. We’ll have to go there to eat soon.”
I shot him a curious glance. “You’re not worried about a Castillo seeing us? It doesn’t seem like we’re that far from Santa Fe.”
“We’re not, but they don’t come here much. Besides, how many of them even know what you look like? And I can mask our witchy natures, so we’ll just look like a couple of civilians to them.”
This response sounded plausible enough. True, a large chunk of the clan had been present at the wedding, but I really doubted they’d be able to recognize me once I was back to my normal lip gloss and mascara and everyday clothes, rather than my elaborate wedding gown and hair and makeup. It was kind of a relief to think that Simon didn’t intend to keep me locked up in a compound somewhere, that we’d be able to go out and eat at a restaurant like regular people.
He turned off onto a small dirt road, then paused after we’d gone about a hundred yards so he could roll down the window and enter the key code for the large iron gate that blocked our way. Maybe we really were going to a compound after all.
That seemed to be the case, because after we passed through the gates, we traveled along a small private road with carefully fenced-in grounds to either side. At this time of year, the grass appeared mostly yellow and dry, but it must have been lush and green in the late spring and summer. Tall trees, their leaves also golden yellow, were planted at regular intervals.
We came to a cluster of buildings, one of which was a detached three-car garage. Everything except the garage was built in what I’d learned was the New Mexico territorial style — steeply peaked roofs, wide porches. The place looked quiet, serene in the late afternoon light, and I felt myself relax at the sight.
Simon touched the controls on the steering column, and the door to the center bay began to open. As far as I could tell, the garage was empty except for a few trashcans lined up against one wall. We got out and retrieved our baggage from the rear of the BMW.
“This way,” Simon said.
I followed him through a door on the same wall where the trashcans were located, and then along a path that wound through a carefully tended garden, where a few hollyhocks and hydrangea bushes still bloomed, despite the time of year. Because we were approaching from the garage rather than the front walk, we came into the house via a pair of French doors that opened on the patio. I assumed Simon must have a key, but he didn’t use one, only touched his fingers to the doorknob and used his inborn magic to let us in.
We stood in an enormously long hallway illuminated by recessed lighting overhead. An equally long, narrow bench ran along one wall, while against the other was a pair of antique tables topped by a matching set of vases filled with sprays of autumn leaves. Landscapes in serene hues lined the walls.
“What is this place?” I asked, my voice hushed. I’d only seen this one hallway — well, and the grounds as we drove in — and I could already tell it was the kind of property that no twenty-one-year-old kid could have rented by himself, even if said kid happened to be part of a prosperous witch clan. This was way, way beyond merely prosperous, and I felt a little like the beggar-maid heroine of a fairytale, sneaking into the king’s palace.
He grinned as if he’d guessed precisely what I was thinking. “It belongs to some rich Texas oil guy. The property was being rented by a Hollywood actor while he was doing a film shoot here in Santa Fe, but he left a couple of weeks ago. Now the oil guy is trying to decide whether to sell or not, so he needed someone to caretake the place in the meantime.”
“That someone being you?” I inquired, not bothering to keep the skepticism out of my tone. That is, I could see why a place like this might need a caretaker, but I found it difficult to believe that anyone would entrust a multimillion-dollar property like this to someone barely old enough to drink.
“Yeah, me.” His grin didn’t fade. �
�I saw the ad and knew the property would be perfect. So what if I padded my resume a little?”
And, for all I knew, used a little magical persuasion to convince the property manager or whoever it was doing the hiring that he would be perfect for the job. I didn’t ask, though; right then, I really didn’t want to know if a talent like that was included in Simon’s magic bag of tricks, because then I’d be forced to wonder whether he’d used it on me to get me to come here in the first place. My decision had been made, and I was too tired to start second-guessing every little thing, especially since I had absolutely no indication that Simon’s plans included anything beyond helping me discover my talents.
“Let me show you your room,” he went on. “Since it’s so late, I figured all we’d do tonight is get settled. I guessed you probably wouldn’t want to get to work right away.”
After the day I’d had, absolutely not. The trips that morning to the nail salon and the hairdresser and the makeup artist to get ready for the wedding now felt as though they had happened roughly a million years ago. “Sounds good.”
I followed Simon down the hallway to a room that was almost the size of the entire ground floor of my parents’ house in Jerome. Actually, it was really a suite, since it had a sitting room attached on one side, and then an enormous bathroom and closet on the other. That closet was bigger than the casita where I’d been staying at Genoveva Castillo’s property, and I knew my few shirts and sweaters were going to look pretty forlorn hanging in that vast expanse. Although it seemed as though the entire house had been done in the same muted shades of beige and gray, with a few accents of pale green or soft terra-cotta, the effect wasn’t dull at all, thanks to all the different textures the decorator had used.
No, the overall effect was just very, very expensive.
“I’m afraid to touch anything,” I said, and Simon grinned.
“Don’t worry about it. I mean, I had to sign a waiver that we wouldn’t be throwing any big parties or anything while we were here, but a little normal wear and tear is okay. I already have a cleaning crew signed up to come in and go over everything, change the sheets and towels and stuff, after we’re done with the place.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask how long he’d been planning this whole getaway, but again, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
He went on, “I’m going to stay in the caretaker’s house. I figured it wouldn’t feel as strange to you if we weren’t sleeping under the same roof.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I protested. Yes, it might have been weird to share the place with Simon, but on the other hand, the house was so big, I doubted we’d be tripping over each other.
“Really, I don’t mind. The caretaker’s house is bigger than the house where I grew up.”
Absolutely wild. I’d noticed the other buildings as we passed by them on the way to the garage, but with the darkness of dusk creeping in on all sides, I hadn’t been able to see a ton of detail beyond the basic design of those structures. It was a little mind-blowing to think that there was a secondary home here that was larger than most people’s regular houses.
“Anyway, I’ll let you unpack and get settled in,” Simon said. “You can meet me in the kitchen when you’re done. Then we can scrounge something for dinner, since I figured you probably wouldn’t be up to going out tonight.”
“No, I definitely am not.” What I really wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a hundred years, but since it wasn’t even seven o’clock yet, I figured that wasn’t a very good idea. “But maybe I should use your phone before it gets any later.”
“Sure.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket and handed it over to me. “It’s unlocked.”
“Thanks.” Even though I’d asked for the phone, I hesitated for a moment before inputting my mother’s cell phone number. What in the world was I supposed to say? As soon as my parents heard what had happened, they would know none of this was my fault, but…. I gulped in a breath, then quickly entered the digits on the keypad before I could lose my nerve.
The phone rang three times, then went to voicemail. What the hell? I would have thought my parents would be ready to pounce as soon as I called, considering I’d been in touch only an hour or so earlier, when Cat texted them a couple of pictures of me in my wedding gown. Then again, maybe they’d thought I would be so occupied with the ceremony and the reception afterward that I wouldn’t have a chance to make any phone calls. It was sort of early, but maybe they’d gone out to dinner or something. While they might answer the phone if it rang during dinner at home, I knew they wouldn’t do the same thing when out to eat, since they hated it when other people had loud phone conversations in restaurants.
Not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved, I took another breath and then said, “Mom, Dad, this is Miranda. Um…some weird stuff happened. The wedding’s off, I guess. Not because of me,” I added hastily. “Rafe got cold feet. Anyway, I’m all right, but I’m staying with a friend for a few days until I can figure out what I want to do next. I’ll try to call again tomorrow. Love you.”
I ended the message there, since I knew my mother could get Simon’s number from the call log on her cell, and handed the phone to Simon. He took it from me and slipped it back into his pocket. “Maybe tomorrow we can go into Española and get you a phone of your own. It’s probably safer than trying to go shopping in Santa Fe.”
“There aren’t any Castillos in Española?”
“Not that I know of. None here in Tesuque, either, which is a big part of why I thought this would be a good place to hole up.”
“I wonder why,” I said. “I mean, I know they have a branch of the family up in Taos, and that’s a lot farther away.”
Simon’s shoulders lifted. “Haven’t a clue. But it helps us out.”
That was for sure. Of course Simon wouldn’t have brought me someplace where the Castillos hung out, but still, I felt a little better knowing I wouldn’t have to worry about stumbling over them in my immediate environs. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll get my stuff put away, then meet you in the kitchen…if I can find it in this place.”
He chuckled. “It’s not that hard. Just go back down the hallway and through the living room. It’s at the other end of the house, but it’s basically a straight shot.”
“Got it.”
A small wave, and then he exited the bedroom, leaving me to myself. I knew I should have gone to hang up my clothes, or put my toiletries away in the bathroom. However, I did neither of those things. Instead, I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around at my unfamiliar surroundings, at the pale whitewashed beams overhead and the equally pale bleached-wood floor.
I’d vowed not to think about him, but I couldn’t help wondering what Rafe was doing right at that moment.
2
Tracks
Rafe Castillo
Cat left after about an hour, and Rafe sat on the couch in the living room and stared at the bottle of Avíon Silver tequila on the coffee table, wondering if he dared have another shot. He wanted to — more than anything, he wanted to blot out the pain and confusion he was feeling. Something had been taken from him, and he didn’t even know how.
Or why.
After an interminable moment, he reached out and grasped the bottle and shot glass, then rose from the couch and went into the kitchen. He put the bottle of tequila back in the cupboard and set the glass on the counter next to the sink. His stomach rumbled grumpily, and he knew he’d have to eat something soon to soak up the alcohol, even though the thought of consuming solid food made him feel sick.
Miranda was gone. They should have been at the reception by now, surrounded by family giving them champagne toasts. Everything had happened so quickly, Rafe didn’t even know what had been on the menu, but since the event was being held at one of the family restaurants, he assumed that whatever that dinner was supposed to be, it would have been good. There would have been a first dance, cake, more dancing, more champagne. Not too much, though
— he and Miranda were supposed to have hit the road for Taos as the reception was winding down. Anyway, another bottle of champagne would have been waiting for them in their suite at the resort.
Shit…had anyone called to cancel the reservation?
His head hurt. He didn’t quite know what he was supposed to be doing with himself, but he guessed it wasn’t standing here in his empty house and getting drunk.
There were things he could be doing. He could be calling Cat to have her notify the staff at El Monte Sagrado resort in Taos that no one would be using their fancy thousand-dollar-per-night honeymoon casita. He could be wandering the streets, looking for Miranda. Hell, he should be calling her parents to let them know she’d disappeared again, even though Genoveva had emphatically stated that she wanted Angela McAllister and Connor Wilcox left out of the loop, at least for now. Rafe knew his mother was hoping they’d locate Miranda soon, and all this nastiness could just get swept under the rug. Nothing to see here — we’re all fine, thank you.
Only it wasn’t fine at all. He had the overwhelming sensation that he was missing something vitally important about the whole mess, but he couldn’t for the life of him think what that might be. His brain still felt fuzzy and not quite there, and he knew that sensation wasn’t entirely due to the tequila. According to his sister Louisa, someone had gone in his head and messed around. Some kind of a spell, although no one in his family could say who would have a reason to cast such a spell.
Because now he had to circle back to the question he’d asked Cat only a short while earlier. Who would do such a thing…and why? Who would profit from wrecking an alliance between the Castillos and the northern Arizona witch clans?
No one, as far as he could tell. Miranda’s mother might have agreed to the bargain that sent her unborn daughter to the Castillos because she was up against the wall dealing with the dark warlock Joaquin Escobar and had no other choice, but circumstances now were very different. Everyone in the witch clans of the Southwest had been at peace for his entire life. Yes, the Castillos tended to keep to themselves, and yet that certainly wasn’t any cause for enmity from the other witch families. As a rule, they tended to stay isolated, and one could say that the chumminess of the three clans in Arizona was the exception rather than the rule.
Darker Paths (The Witches of Canyon Road Book 2) Page 2
